Floor-cleaner.



K. T. BROBERG.

' FLOOR CLEANER. APPLIoATIoN FILED PERB, 1909-.

977,701. Patented Dec. 6,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

/l'fnesses 'Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

entre.

*kann 'rCasTEN BRCBERG. or Monnerat, fun-nene, CANADA, Assrenoa or yTwo- 'rmnns To ARTHUR HAWTHC'RNE Davis, or s'rfronn, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA..

, ,Specification of Letters Patent.

IPatented Dec. 6, 1910.

Application led February 8, 1909. Serial No. 476,610.

To all whom 'it may concern.: i

Be it known that 1, KARL TORs'rEN BRO- nnRC., resident of 501El Mance street, of the city and districty of Montreal, irr the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, a citizen of Finland,l have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floor- Cleaners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clearand eXact.descrip-' tion of the same.

The invention `relates t improvements in iioor cleaners, as described in the 'present specification andv illustrated' in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same. v

rfhe invention consists essentially of the novel arrangement and' construction of parts whereby preparedl water iows to the previously swept ioor at intervals and is scrubbed thereover bysrotatable scrubbers, and subsequently mopped up by mops rotating conl( [zlrrently with the operations of said scrubrs. f rlhe objects of the invention are to facilitate the cleaningof floors, particularly floors made of hardwood, to arrange a machine so that the oor will be swept, scrubbed and' dried with the simple action of pushing a machine over the floor, and generally to devise a simple device which w1ll be quite easy for the unskilled person to operate.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view ofthe machine, disclosing the various operating parts in consecutive arrangement. 2 1s` a sectional plan View of the machine through the line A-B in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the machine having the side plates removed to disclose the running gear. Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective view of the machine. Fig. 5 1s a detailV of a scrubber. Fig. 6 is a 'perspective detail showing a` scrubber and an adjusting arrangement for-raising and lowering said scrubber.

Likenumerals of reference indicate spending parts in each i'gure.

1 is the casing here. shown as much the same form as the ordinary carpet sweeper having the inner sides 2 'and outer sides 3, the ends 4 and the open top 5, closed by the COITB- lid 6, said lid bein held on one side in the under-cut portion the buttons 8A and 9.

10 1s a partition extending across between theinner sides .2 -slightly forward of the lon- -and the other side by Uitudinal center of the casing separating the dust chamber 11 at the front end of the casing from the rear chamber 12.

13 is a tank supported on'the brackets 14 immediately to the rear of the partition 10 and having outlet openings 15 through which the suds or soapy water flows.

16 are sprin -held valves having their stems 17 extendlng belowthe bottom of the tank 13, said valves finding sui'table seats around the outlet openings 15 in their closed position. The particular construction of these valves as shown is not at all essential to the invention as the outlet openings may be closed and opened in any suitable manner and with any desirable form of valve.

18 are bristles extending from the center of the circular backs 19, said backs being perforated at 20, so that thewater may flow through into the bristles. In Fig. 6, a modied construction of the brush is shown in which 21 are holders or caps mounted on the said backs 19 and secured thereto by the screws 22, the latter being inserted through the slots 23 so that said lbacks are adjustable in their holders and may be readily moved upwardly and downwardly therein, suitable openings 24 being made in each one of said ca s.

235 are intersecting bars extending inwardly from the rims of the caps 21 to the center thereof and which dene openings 24.

26 are shafts extending upwardly from the bars 25 at their intersection and secured nsuitable bearings in the cross bar 27.

28 are worm wheels iXedly mounted on the f shafts 26 immediately above the bars 25.

29 is a worm shaft journaled in the inner sides 2 and having the worms 30 coacting with the Worm wheels 2S. J

31 is a pinion xedly mounted on the sha 29,v at the end thereof project-ing beyond one of theI inner sides 2.

26a are shafts projecting upwardly from the center of the brushbacks 19 and secured in suitable bearings inthe cross bar 27 28a are worm wheels Xedly mounted on .the shafts 26a immediately above the brush backs 19. Said worm wheels 28a coact with the worm shaft 29 and the operation of the brushes is precisely the same asthat already described as referring to the modified form gf construction of they brush illustrated in 32 and 32El are lugs projecting upwardly from the top sides of the brush backs 19 and the holders 21 respectively, said lugs contacting with the valve stems 17 on the rotation of the said brushesfthus openin Athe outlet openings 15 at intervals to permit the How of water down to the brushes.

- 33 is a tank supported on the brackets 34v at the rear end of the casing 1 in the interior thereof, said ltank 33 having the curved front side 35.

36 is a wringer of rubber orothersuitable material journaled-at the top of said .curvedfront side or at an opening through said front side.

37 is a mop rollerV having suitable soft mopping material 38 secured therein and extending outwardly from the periphery thereof.

brushes 18 having the mop material 42 ex tending-downwardly from the underside.

43 are holders or caps in which the circular mops 41 are held by the screws 44 in- `serted through the slots 45 in said caps 43.

46 are shafts extending upwardly* from the caps 43 and suitably jour-naled in the cross bar 47. Y

48 are worm wheels mounted on the shafts 46 immediately above the caps 43,.

i connects the gear wheels 54 and 55, as Well A as being the means of driving the mop roller 37. The gear wheel 55 drives 49 is a shaft journaled in the inner sides l2 tothe rear of the mop roller 37 and having the worms 5,0 coacting with' the Worm,

Wheels 48.

5'1 is a pinion ixedly mounted at one end of the shaft 49 beyond an inner side 2. vIt will' now 4be seen that the scrubbing brushes and the two sets of drying cloths or mops are provided in this machine, anda means for wringing the lirst mop which gathers up all the free water, as the said mop 'turns against the wringer roller 36,' said water being' wrung out of said mop roller and running into the tank 33.

52 are theV rear sets of wheels of the running gear of the machine' turning with the axles 53.

54 is a gear wheel of the axles 53, and' 55 is agear wheel mounted on the other of the'axles 53. 56 is a rubber rimmed pinion ixedly mounted on the shaft 39 to the outside of the pinion 40 and contacting with wheels 52 on axles 53 respectively. The pinion 40 on the worm shaft 49..

axle gears through the iixedly mounted on one the pinion 5-1 57 is a 'rubber pinion connectingthe other wheels 52y on the axles 53 at the other side of the machine, said pinion being mounted on the end ofthemop rollershaft39 extending beyond the inner side.

A suitable means isused for exerting a downward pressure on the axles 53, as is common in carpet sweeper construction, and the details of a certain form of carpet sweeper have been illustrated in which a spring n58 is suitably arranged on the pins 59, the rollers 60 on the end thereof contacting with the axles 53, the upper ends of the spring-are curled, butI as this has no direct connection with the present invention, other than the general form of the machine, further particulars will not be given in this description.

It will now be'understood from the foregoing description thatv the rotation of the wheels 52 will set all the rotatable parts in motion, the scrubbers beirig operated from their worm shaft through the connection of said worm shaft with one of the gears m-ounted o-n an axle, while the mop roller 39. is operated from its connection with the said inion mounted on its own shaft, and the circular mops therebehind are operated from Atheir own Worm gear. shaft through the pinion mounted o-n said Worm gear shaft coactingwith a gear on an axle.

It may be that the toothed gear Wheels shown and described herein may not be always necessary in light machines, as the friction 'of the rubber pinion will no doubt in some ,cases operate the scrubbers and driers. v

61 are the forward set of Wheels of the running gear xedly mounted 4on 'the axles 62.

63 is the rotary broom extending through Suitable slots inthe inner side and journaled -in the outer sides ofthe casing 1. fr

64 are rubber rimmed pinions mounted on the shaft of the rotary sweeper and contacting with the rubber rims of the set of wheels 61, therefore operatively connecting the said rotary 'sweeper and the wheels 61.

65' are the dust-pans into which the rotary broom throws'the dust.

-The construction of the 'sweeper portion of the machine may be lmuch modified from that described herein, as any form of rotary sweeper that will fit in and operate in the casing may be used. The constructionl of the sweeper portion is described very generally land is not shown in detail in the drawings, reliance being placed on the illus? .trationsin Figs. 1 and 3 and the almost universal knowledge of carpet sweepers for the understanding of this part of the machine.

the fork being pivotally secured to the sides of the casing so that' thesaid handle will 66 is a handle extendingfrom the fork 67,

isc

portion of the machine in drawingthe cas- Y ing backwardly.

In the operation of this invention, the machine is taken by the handle and sufficient pressure brought to bear on the running gear to bring the several gear connections into action and consequently set the parts in motion. The dust is swept up by the sweeper and the rotary scrubbers immediately follow on the cleared floor', the bristles in the brushes being arranged so that the door will be thoroughly scrubbed within the path swept by the rotary sweeper. The mop roller follows thevbrushes immediately and gathers up the dirty water or whatever fluid may be used, which water is wrung out by contact with the wringer roller 36, the water thus wrung out running into the rear tank. The floor is'fairly dry. after being mopped by the lmop roller but the final rubbing is lgiven by thecircular mops immediately to the rearof the said mop roller. These are simply for the purpose of giving the final rub and drying up any excessive moisture on the fioor. The operation ofscrubbing being over, the rear tank is emptied out and if necessary the front tank replenished with suds or soapy water or any kind of fiuid that is being used for cleaning purposes. The water falling through the outlets as explained, is .well distributed from thev centrifugal action of the scrubbing brushes and therefore all the brushes will be thoroughly wet and no part of the floor will escape their action. The mop roller is preferably a little wider than the total width of the brushes, to insure the removal of water left -on the floor.

It maybe here explained that the casing l and the running gear, that is to say, the wheels and axles, form the carriage of the machine, said carriage containing as described in detail hereinbefore a full complement of parts necessary to clean the fioor thoroughly. [In order to keep the/water within the casing, while the machine is bemg operated, I use the rubber strips 68 secured to the ybottom edge of the outer sides of said casing which contact with the Hoor as the brushes andinops revolve.

The specific lform of scrubber illustrated in Figs. l, 2 and 4 is made up of simply a plain back holding the bristles, this back b eing perforated and having a central shaft projecting upwardly therefrom.

. The preferable form of back has' been described herein before and is illustrated in Fig. 6, though in the said Figs; l, 2 and 4, the plainer form of brush is shown.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

In a Hoor cleaner, in combination, a cas: ing, a chamber at the front end, a water tank located immediately to the rear of said chamber having a discharge orifice through the bottom thereof, a rotary scrubbing brush operating horizontally beneath said tank and having a plurality of perforatlons through the back thereof and a central stub shaft and a trip lug projecting upwardly therefrom, a. cross bar forming a bearing for said shaft, a worm wheel mounted on said stub shaft, a worm shaft journaled in the sides of said casing and coacting with saidl worm wheel, a pinion mounted on said worm shaft outside the casing, running gear supporting said casing, a plurality of gear wheels connecting said running gear with said worm shaft pinion, a spring-held valve closing the aforesaid discharge orifice and operated by said trip lug, a rotary mop having its supporting shafts journaled in the sides of said casing, a pinion on the mop shaft connected with said gear wheels, and a horizontal wiping mop having a stub shaft projecting upwardly and centrally therefrom, a cross bar forming a bearing for said stub shaft from the wiper, a wormwheel on said wiper shaft, a worm shaft journaled in the sides of said casing and coacting with said worm-wheel, and a pinion mounted on said wiper worm shaft and connected with said gear wheels.

Signed at the city and district of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, this 23rd day of January, 1909.

KARL TORSTEN BROBERG.

Witnesses -G. H. TRESIDDER,

P. SHEE. 

